So I kind of unexpectedly got the opportunity to do a 9 month internship in England. But I don't quite know what to do with my car while I am gone. The people running the internship want me pretty much immediately (january).

I thought about storing it, but Im not sure where. I thought about renting a storage unit, but Im not sure how expensinve that would be or if they would let me store a car in there. Also, the car obviously wouldn't be driven for 9 months or so, which I'm sure can't be terribly good for it.

I could sell it, but I have to leave very soon and am dubious that I could sell it that quickly (2-3 weeks). I would be asking 8-10k for it, and doubt I could get that much right after christmas. Plus it has some cosmetic issues on the front and we all know people tend to buy on looks. Besides that, Ive put alot of maintenance work and money into it, so I'd prefer to keep it. I could leave it with someone to try to sell for me, but that is kind of a pain in the ass with the titles and everything.

The other option is to drive it to my parents house, but they live in Georgia, so I would be driving it across country. With premium gas where it is, I imagine that would cost me an arm and a leg, assuming the car makes it all the way from California to Georgia with no problems. Also, that would take alot of time that I don't have right now.

So what would you do in my situation? Know any cheap/secure long-term storage places that will let me store a car?

I was in a similar situation except i decided to leave home for a couple of years and travel. I didnt even think about selling my Celica. The extra money would have been nice but ill never get another one in the condition its in etc.

So mines locked away in my parents garage. I've been away since May so i really miss it

I'm sure you could probably find a storage unit somewhere that'll let you store your car. Just put stabil in the gas tank, remove the battery, cover her up and away you go. Probably the better way is to have someone you REALLY trust to pull it out of storage at least once a month and drive it. The problem with that is what happens in the event that something happens to the car during those excursions? Tough spot dude. I wouldn't sell it though. Remember all the blood, sweat, and tears?

^I know I'm just getting it into good condition. I don't want to have to go through all that with another car (unless it's an ST205 ). I'd much rather go with a "known quantity." Engine wise, the car is running and boosting great now.

I spent all of my Christmas break working on it, even though, because of a couple snafus, I didn't get alot accomplished. But I finally fiddled with the downpipe enough to get the bracket on, then adjusted the IC piping so it doesn't rub and doesn't hit the hood (with only millimeters to spare). Also installed some solid aluminum crossmember bushes. Tried to do my brakes, but the rotors were too thick. But I think I could do pads and rotors in 15 minutes a side now.

Oh yeah, I took the car to a professional frame guy to see what he thought about the collision damage. He said that it looked all cosmetic to him and that if there were no symptoms in drivability, that I shouldn't worry about it. That made me feel somewhat better. But thats another reason I don't want to sell it. I'll take a huge hit on a "frame damaged" car, even with the work I've put into it.

We'll see what happens. I found a few storage places, but its just a matter of getting someplace cheap enough for my budget. I read some stuff online about storing cars and they said it really wasn't much advantage to start the car up every now and then. And that 9 months wasn't too long to store a car with a few precautions.

Hmm, I'm inclined to think that having the gaskets lubricated would be a good thing but maybe nine months in the life of the car isn't that big. Glad to hear that the chassis is doing okay. We can probably just pound that dent in the bottom back.

9 months of storage isn't going to do much to the car.. Just top off the fuel tank, unplug the battery, and put the car on jackstands (so the tires wont sit in one position bearing the weight off the car for 9 months) and you'll be good to go.

I'd hate to see you have to sell it. Storing it would be the #1 option. #2 is a toss up between selling it and driving it cross country. I'm not sure what shape your car is in currently, so only you'd know if you can confidently make that journey.

If you do want to sell it, you may want to call up John and see if he can help you out and sell it on your behalf like he did for Steve when he sold the car to you.. Only thing is John may not have the time or space, but hey, it wouldnt hurt to ask..

lumbercis wrote:^I'm not too happy with John right now, because he didn't tell me the car had been in a front end collision when he sold it to me. So I'm not really inclined to trust him much anymore.

I wouldn't hold that against John to know about stuff like a front end collision because John wasn't the owner of the car.. He just had it sitting at his place to sell it for the previous owner (Steve) who left the car in his care because he left the country himself... All John did was take care of a few electrical gremlins that Steve had complained about..

In fact, I can tell you that in all likeliness Steve didn't even know about any front end collision since he bought the vehicle "as-is" from the owner previous to him. Steve only had the car for about a year and he wasn't a person who wrenched on cars at all.. not a DIY'er by any means..

Anyhow, good luck with whatever your plans are.. If you don't keep it, hopefully it finds a happy home..

^I don't have as much faith as you do With as much knowledge as John has about GT-Fours, I'm pretty skeptical that he wouldn't have noticed something wasn't right. He made a point of saying it had a "clean title." And it did, but that wasn't exactly the whole story. It's pretty obvious if you know what to look for. And he had a clean example sitting right next to this car. Oh, and I never heard about any "electrical gremlins" before I bought the car either. Unfortunately, I wasn't the alltrac guru then that I am now (stop laughing Hisonori!!), so I didn't know what to look for myself. I thought "clean title" automatically meant no accidents. Ah well, live and learn.

Anyway, thats water under the bridge now. I'm not going to make a big deal out of it after two or three years, even though I won't be able to sell the car for even what I paid, despite all the restoration work I've done since I've had it. But I guarantee the next car I buy will be gone over with a fine-tooth comb, and will be bone stock!!

^What would that make, like 5 cars? Don't you have a wife or something? She'll pitch a fit if you buy any more cars.

Actually, my university is being stingy, so I may have to sell the car. I'd really like to put it back to stock before I sell it, but don't have time to hunt down stock parts and put it all back together. IDK, someone may be getting a good deal in a few months when I run out of money.

lumbercis wrote:^But I guarantee the next car I buy will be gone over with a fine-tooth comb, and will be bone stock!!

So want to buy my car??

J.

I would love to buy your car for a good deal. I have a bone stock '91 with 109k miles with no mechanical issues. Are you willing to trade? Hell, I'll even let you store your ride at my house while you're in England if you agree to a trade.